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We wished there were more color choices to choose from for this yoyo.

One of the oldest ways to keep one busy is to play with a yo-yo. At first glance, a yo-yo looks like a carved piece of wood attached to a string. If you’d never seen one of these toys before, you’d likely end up scratching your head and think “how in the world is that fun?”. However, once you see someone who has experience playing around with a yo-yo, you quickly realize how much fun it can be. There’s a super low learning curve and virtually everyone can learn how to use it in a short period of time. Additionally, it doesn’t take much time or dedication to learn some sophisticated-looking tricks.

Overall, a yo-yo can offer long-term entertainment for a few dollars. Not many other things offer these features in conjunction with each other.

Features to Consider When Buying a Yo-Yo

Composition – no one wants to waste their hard-earned cash on something that has bad build-quality, even if you’re purchasing a yo-yo. Thus, many people have spent a good amount of time researching the materials comprising the yo-yo they’re looking at. generally, hard plastics and wood are a great solution because you know they’re not going to break really easily. Additionally, be sure to look at the string material that is being used. However, you can easily add your own type of string if you prefer something more heavy-duty.

Price – Since the price of yo-yos can vary, many people are interested in the price. Be sure to search the market and see if a price point is something you truly care about. Generally speaking, its safe to assume that the lower the price, the lower the quality (but not always).

Color/Style – Most people want a yo-yo that will reflect their personality, style, and preferences. With that being said, there are virtually endless styles/colors/designs for yo-yos. I’m confident you’ll find the yo-yo that perfectly matches your individuality.

Yo-Yo’ing 101 – Beginners Advice

If you’re brand-spankin’ new to yo-yoing, we highly recommend taking a closer look at this video below. Its pretty straight-forward and easy to follow. Plus it helps lay down the fundamentals needed to quickly grow your skills!

Yoyo Shopping Guide

What do you look for when shopping for Yo-Yos these days? Well firstly, that depends on your level of skill. When it comes to yo-yos, there is a yo-yo available that exactly suits your needs. Circus tricks in all shapes and sizes are making a huge comeback in schools these days, with Diablo, hula hopping and yo-yos fast becoming party favorites again as kids show off their tricks and compare skills. Professional yo-yo’ing is a serious art and requires a lot of practice and skill. There is a huge selection of modern yo-yos available, as well as collectibles and retro models. This guide is here to inform you of all the choices you have when shopping for a yo-yo so that you can walk away with a great take on an age-old classic for the right price.

Are you a beginner?

If you haven’t touched a yo-yo before, or perhaps have played a little but don’t have any tricks under your belt, or you are buying a gift for someone who hasn’t played with a yo-yo before, then a beginner yo-yo is your best way to go.

These yo-yos are cheap, from $2 up to a maximum of $20 and are classed as responsive. Responsive yo-yos react automatically when you pull at the string or move your finger so that you can throw them down and they roll back up with ease. Using a responsive yo-yo is best for beginners so that you can get the hang of simple string and hang tricks and you can enjoy yourself as you quickly build up a repertoire of tricks

Like we said before, it doesn’t really matter what brand of yo-yo you chose as a beginner. Just find one that you like the look of and feel of in your hand and on your finger.

Getting the hang of it?

When you feel like you are beginning to exceed the boundaries that your beginner yo-yo provides and you can perform basic yo-yo tricks such as trapeze, pinwheels and string tricks like double or nothing, you can move onto an unresponsive yo-yo.

As you build up that list of tricks and are feeling unchallenged with your beginner, responsive yo-yo, you can to step into the world of professional yo-yos. These professional yo-yos begin as unresponsive yo-yos, and again, you do not have to break the bank to get a quality unresponsive yo-yo.

For a metal version, we suggest that you look into any ‘Magic’ branded yo-yo. They are priced in the range of $10 to $20 and are a great first-time unresponsive yo-yo. Another great quality brand to consider is the Replay Pro. These models are plastic and therefore durable and cheap.

Tech Trick Master?

As you continue to progress with your yo-yo abilities, perhaps beginning to create your own tricks and mastering tricks such as the Kamikaze and other slack tricks with your Magic or Replay Pro unresponsive model, you can start to look into more specific and Tech Trick designed models.

We recommend such models as the Magic Stealth, the Shutter, the Horizon and the Edge models. They all come reasonably priced in the range of $20 to $100, a price you should expect to pay for a good quality, tech trick model.

Speed Trickster?

Perhaps you are not exactly into technical tricks, but love impressing people with the speed of your yo-yo’ing and performing tricks that are based around speed. When shopping for a speed yo-yo, you need to look for an angular shape between the two wheels where the string is attached, and more importantly, a V shape. Such models that are great for speed tricks are the Throw Revolution Zepher. The Magic Skyva and the Magic Yo-Yo T5 are also great speed yoyos as they have the classic angular V shape.

When looking to perform speed tricks, you should also keep an eye for models that flow easily on the string, that are lightweight and stable, allowing you to comfortably and confidently throw your yo-yo around without difficulty.

Plastic or Metal?

When it comes to choosing whether your yo-yo should be plastic or metal, that is really your choice of preference. There is a lot of debate ever since the metal yo-yo came about, boasting longer spin times, however with advancing plastic technology, this is not at all true.

Plastic yo-yos are cheaper, and generally, they are very durable, although some polycarbonate plastics crack easily. Polycarbonate plastics are only used in very budget yo-yo models and these days are rarely used at all. Plastic technology is always improving and the weight distribution of plastic yo-yos has to become significantly better over the years.

Metal yo-yos, on the other hand, have always had awesome weight distribution, and you will buy a metal yo-yo no matter the cost promising superior handling due to the weight distribution being ideal. They are also smoother than plastic yo-yos, but an average yo-yo spinner will not notice this difference nor will it have a great effect on any tricks. Metal yo-yos are more expensive, but generally, are deemed to be the better model than its plastic counterpart.

Yo-Yo for Fun

There are many fun yo-yos available that are a non-competition quality that you can purchase as gifts or for yourself for a bit of fun. These include collectible yo-yos, gimmick yo-yos, light-up yo-yos and many more. Undersized and narrow yo-yos are also available for you to mix it up and keep your yo-yo throwing new and inventive.

So when it comes to yo-yo shopping, decide what stage of professionalism you are at and work from there. There is a huge array of different quality and style yo-yos that you can choose from that are designed for different stages of trick knowledge. You also need to consider what material you want to use, be it metal or plastic. Essentially the choice is up to you on your preference, whatever yo-yo you choose will give you lasting enjoyment for years to come.